Chankgeez wrote:It's just a question.
What I'm asking is: "what do you think they have going for them that some other builders don't?"
There are dozens of companies in the US making solid gear, however, there is a significant leap from moderately successful to very successful to huge. To go from successful to having a huge presence in the industry (EQD, Strymon, Empress, Keeley), you need product diversity and you need big sellers in trending categories. (I'm not talking about BOSS-size.) That's why many companies will never have more than a couple employees and a small network of dealers. That's not a criticism. It's just a recognition of certain limitations. Some builders want more control and less outside influence, therefore deliberately limiting growth suits them.
The current Crazy Tube Circuits (Greece) lineup features 19 pedals. That's a lot of choices for buyers and they're working within top-trending categories (utility dirt, modulated delay, epic reverb, modulation). You would be hard-pressed to name another, somewhat under-the-radar company, with a line that big. CTC is a relatively young company, but they have shown, that they can get products from concept to completion in a short window, which can't be said about a lot of builders----who have talented people and useful ideas, but they don't adhere to deadlines or have enough variety. Many companies work in a small niche, which helps them to maintain a degree of comfort, but it hinders their overall growth (intentional or unintentional).
Chankgeez wrote:Isn't exposure just one part of the game?
People aren't going to buy from you, if they don't know that you exist. If people don't see you, everything else you do is irrelevant.
CTC has a lot of the necessary ingredients for being a top-selling brand, but their growth will be determined by their exposure and distribution, which I can't necessarily say about other builders. In other cases, I could cite several additional factors that are holding those builders back, despite having built-in geographical and economical advantages over some of their competitors.